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.
Hyderabad: Apart from political backlash over the doubling of divisions by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) from 150 to 300, following the merger of municipalities and the redrawing of boundaries, there is heavy public outcry over the delimitation exercise believed to have been done "in haste" and "without transparency". People are demanding a thorough review of the entire exercise. Citizens of various divisions have raised strong objections to the recent delimitation process notification by the GHMC. They also decry the high property taxes already being collected without offering better services, the splitting of colonies, calling it "disorganised and neglectful of public and political representation". So far, GHMC has received over 1,400 complaints regarding the boundaries of the new wards being formed. Recently, the GHMC announced the names of 300 divisions within its newly expanded jurisdiction, which has grown from 650 square kilometers to nearly 2,000 square kilometers. Previously, the corporation had 150 divisions; the rest now come from the merged entities. In response to the notification, citizens allege that the process was not transparent and had ignored multiple representations, which could therefore lead to administrative chaos in all relevant departments across various divisions. Several residents are concerned that the merger could result in a significant increase in property taxes, water bills, and other charges. Residents in satellite cities of GHMC fear that the merger may inflate their tax burden. P Ayyappa, a resident of Badangpet, said: "When our panchayat became a municipal corporation, the property tax increased manifold. Now we residents fear the tax will increase again." Mohammed Asif Sohail expressed his view that the delimitation process commenced without the release of comprehensive, GIS-based ward maps, boundary descriptions, and population statistics. Furthermore, the authorities have disregarded the inputs of residents' welfare associations and of political representatives from recognised parties. "The maps provided lack clarity regarding population and voter information in the divisions. In the absence of precise details, residents are unable to determine their wards or raise their objections," said Asif Sohail. Several other citizens have pointed to potential administrative issues that could arise from the newly established boundaries. "In the same colony, for instance, one side of the road falls under one division, while the opposite side falls under a different division," he pinpointed. This will also affect police stations, mandals, district jurisdictions, resulting in confusion for both citizens and the authorities. Residents of various colonies stressed that their colonies should not be taken for granted. As even now, in various areas, some colonies are still governed by multiple police stations, different Commissionerate, mandals, registration offices, and administrative offices, leading to confusion and inconvenience. Citizens hope that the delimitation exercise would resolve long-standing issues, instead of complicating matters. "Already, they remain unaddressed, said T Gangadhar. Some citizens have raised serious concerns. "GHMC already has 150 corporators who are functioning without dedicated development funds for their divisions. When even the existing elected representatives are struggling without resources, how will adding 27 more municipalities ensure real development?" asked Shaik Ahmed. Recently, the 6,500 members of the United Federation of Residents Welfare Association (U-FERWAS) flagged a confusion over the delimitation and gave a representation to the GHMC and MAUD.
Kochi: The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) made significant gains in the bypolls to 31 local body wards in Kerala, held on November 20, according to results released by the State Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday. The bypolls were held in one district panchayat ward, four block panchayat wards, three municipality wards, and 23 grama panchayat wards. In the previous elections held in 2020, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) controlled 15 wards, the UDF controlled 13, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) controlled 3. Also Read: Bypolls in 15 seats across Uttar Pradesh, P ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: The state budget has introduced a significant hike in land tax, with rates increasing by 50% across all slabs. The minimum tax rate, previously Rs 5 per are (2.47 cents), has been raised to Rs 7.50, while the highest slab rate has risen from Rs 30 to Rs 45 per are. Kerala Budget 2025: Rs 20 crore allocated for Vijnana Kerala Project to boost student employability The government anticipates an additional revenue of Rs 100 crore through this revision. In panchayat areas, land measuring up to 8.1 ares will now be taxed at Rs 7.50 per are, while for land exceeding this limit, ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Centre has asked the states and union territories to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of administrative jurisdictions before December 31, 2025, when they will freeze for the Census-2027 exercise and the first phase of the decadal population count will begin on April 1 next year, according to a communication sent by the registrar general and census commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, on June 27. The freezing means the states/UTs won't be able to change the boundaries of districts, towns, villages and tehsils post December 31. The Census can be conducted on ...Read More >
Mumbai: In a major political development, former MLA Vijay Bhambale from the Sharad Pawar faction formally joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Deputy Chief Minister and National President Ajit Pawar. Bhambale, accompanied by a large group of office-bearers from various districts, was welcomed into the party during an event held at the Mahila Vikas Mandal Auditorium in Mumbai. Addressing the gathering, Ajit Pawar announced that he would embark on a statewide tour starting from Nandurbar after the conclusion of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature. He emphasized the ...Read More >
Shimla, Jul 2 (PTI) The controversy over a five-storey building collapsing in Bhatta Kuffar area in Shimla saw two officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) being booked on Wednesday on complaints by residents for allegedly endangering life and intentional hurt. This came a day after a case was filed against Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh on charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt after he allegedly assaulted the two NHAI officials while inspecting the building collapse site. The FIR against the minister was lodged on the complaint fil ...Read More >
Mumbai: The death toll in Monday's BEST bus crash rose to seven and the number of injured to 42 even as the driver, Sanjay More, booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, claimed he had noticed a spark and mistakenly accelerated the bus instead of applying brakes. Seeking More's custody, police said they want to investigate if he intentionally used the vehicle as a weapon. The bus on Route 332 had accelerated on a congested 200m stretch near Kurla station hitting vehicles and pedestr ...Read More >
Mumbai: To bring discipline to urban traffic and avoid unnecessary congestion on roads, the Urban Development Department must amend its policy to strengthen the parking system, said Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik. He emphasized the importance of introducing an integrated parking system in metropolitan cities. Minister Sarnaik was speaking at a meeting of municipal commissioners from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), held at Mantralaya. The meeting included officials such as Additional Secretary of the Transport Department Sanjay Sethi, Additional Secretary of the Urban Deve ...Read More >
Godhra, Jun 28 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday called for the youth to resolve towards making India a world leader in every sphere by 2047, when it celebrates the centenary of its Independence. He also recalled the contributions of tribal leader Govind Guru in India's freedom struggle, saying he awakened the conscience of the people from the region during the British rule. Shah was addressing via video link a programme where development works worth Rs 125 crore for Shri Govind Guru University at Vinzol near Godhra in Gujarat's Panchmahal district were launched. Describing Go ...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 >
Bhubaneswar, June 30 (UNI) The Commissionerate Police today arrested three individuals, including a BJP corporator, for assaulting Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahu inside the corporation office. The incident sparked widespread resentment among BMC employees, who, along with several BJD corporators and leaders, staged a road blockade on the busy Bani Vihar-Master Canteen stretch in the evening. The protest brought vehicular movement to a standstill for several hours, causing severe inconvenience to commuters. Police later removed the protesters, i ...Read More >
Mumbai: St James Church, one of the oldest landmarks from Thane's colonial history, is getting a facelift to celebrate its 200th anniversary in July. The church was built in 1825 as a place of worship for British officers and soldiers when the town, then spelled as Tannah or Thana, was the headquarters of a large district in the Bombay Province. The restoration work on the church building is expected to continue for six months, but the jubilee will be celebrated on July 25. Rev Rajendra Bhosale, the priest-in-charge, noted that the church is in what was then the civil lines, where the offices ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
Lucknow: Mayor Sushma Kharkwal participated in a two-day national conference of urban local body (ULB) heads in Manesar (Haryana) and stressed on urban development and the role of women in local governance.Representatives from across the country, including mayors, municipal corporators, zila parishad heads, and urban planners, participated in the event.Kharkwal highlighted the need to implement the 74th Constitutional Amendment in full, to give ULBs more authority in decision-making, financial matters and administration. She presented steps taken by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation, including ...Read More >
New Delhi: In a key development regarding the Census 2027, the government of India has asked states and Union Territories to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of administrative units before December 31, when they will be considered final for the census exercise. In a letter to all states and Union Territories, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan has said that for the Census, all villages and towns are divided into uniform enumeration blocks and for each block, an enumerator is assigned to avoid any miss or repetition during the population count ...Read More >
HYDERABAD: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday ruled out any talks with Maoists and said the cadre of the proscribed outfit should give up arms, surrender before police, and join the mainstream. Addressing a rally after inaugurating the National Headquarters of the Turmeric Board in Nizamabad in Telangana, Shah also said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is still raising questions on Operation Sindoor, should see the weak appearance of Pakistan to understand the effectiveness of the Operation. "Congress asks (the Centre) to hold discussions with these people (Maoists). Our government's p ...Read More >
Shimla, July 2 (PTI) A day after he was booked for allegedly assaulting two NHAI officials, Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh on Wednesday denied the allegations and said that "the FIR does not mean that I am guilty." Singh also claimed widespread irregularities in road construction works by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and called its officials the "most corrupt in the country". The alleged incident occurred on Monday when the minister was inspecting a building collapse site in Shimla and called NHAI officers there. The owner of the building had claimed negligence by NHA ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana, who was part of the all-party parliamentary delegation to Europe, said that during their recently conclued visit they successfully communicated India's development story and its resolute stand against terrorism, particularly emanating from Pakistan. Highlighting the delegation's key discussions during the tour, Khatana told ANI, 'We discussed how we dismantled the terrorism factory in Pakistan by responding... We also talked about tourism infrastructure, G20 Summit, and projects like the six-lane roads, bridges, solar initiatives, our ...Read More >
Gurgaon: MCG additional commissioner Yash Jaluka directed bulk waste generators (BWG) across the city to ensure proper disposal of waste by private agencies who are assisting them. Giving these instructions in a meeting held on Friday, he said it is often observed that BWGs hand over their waste to private agencies, which only sort valuable items and dump the remaining waste on roads, drains, vacant land or public places. This, he said, not only affects cleanliness of the city but also poses a threat to public health."Under the Solid Waste Management Rules-2016, it is the legal and moral respo ...Read More >
Haridwar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj on Sunday demanded that hotel, dhaba and eatery owners on the Kanwar Yatra routes should display their names and identities on boards outside their business establishments. The owners, who hide their identities under fake names, on the Kanwar Yatra routes should not be spared, he told reporters here. "Tampering with faith of the Hindu devotees during the Kanwar Yatra will not be tolerated," said the Unnao MP. The food shops on the Kanwar Yatra routes should have a board outside with the names of their owners clearly written on them, h ...Read More >
Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Ravindra Chavan is all set to become the next Maharashtra BJP chief as he filed his nomination for the post of party's state president on Monday. Mr. Chavan presented the nomination forms to Union Minister Kiran Rijiju, who has been appointed as a central observer for the elections by the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and outgoing party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule were present on this occasion. With no other nomination being filed for the post, Mr. Chavan is certain to become the next state president of Maharashtra BJP, said party leaders. The ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: In a dramatic turn of events, Canadian PM Mark Carney called PM Modi and invited him for the G7 summit that begins eight days from now at Kananaskis in Alberta. Modi accepted the invitation and said he was looking forward to meeting him at the summit.The announcement by Modi on X followed almost a week of suspense over his participation because of a lack of invitation, drawing barbs from the opposition about his possible exclusion from the summit. India is not a member of G7 but Modi has been invited for all summits since 2019. Modi congratulated Carney on his poll win and thanked h ...Read More >
BENGALURU: BBMP marshals deployed at lake security and supervision wing, ward monitoring and Indira Canteens are working without salaries since March. The situation has arisen after Bangalore Solid Waste Management Limited was carved out of BBMP for garbage management. Their salaries are usually given through the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Society and each marshal is paid Rs 17,500 monthly. "Supervisors say the delay is due to a set of procedures. Earlier, the amount was given to the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Society towards payments from BBMP. Now the files have to be cleared from BWSML to ward mars ...Read More >
Ranchi: The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) collected Rs 39.33 crore in property tax during the first quarter (April to June) of the 2025-26 financial year -- its highest-ever quarter-1 collection. The amount came from 81,320 taxpayers, according to official figures.The civic body attributed the rise in collections to multiple factors -- a tiered rebate system, increased digital adoption, expanded door-to-door collection, and payment facilitation centres. A 10% rebate on lump-sum payments was available until June 30, while earlier slabs in April and May offered 3%, 5%, and 7% rebates.Of the ...Read More >
The Palakkad bypoll has turned into a fierce triangular contest with key defections adding to the excitement. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan campaigned for former Congress leader P Sarin, now contesting as an Independent for the LDF, while BJP’s C Krishnakumar faces a tough challenge. Sarin, a former Congress digital strategist, switched parties after being snubbed for the Congress ticket. Meanwhile, BJP leader Sandeep Varier defected to Congress, further intensifying the race. With the election crucial for UDF, NDA, and LDF's momentum heading into the 2026 Kerala assembly elections, all eyes are ...Read More >
Goa: The accused, identified as Vishal Gohil, 42, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, was arrested on Wednesday in Calangute, police officials said on Thursday. Gohil was arrested during an operation led by Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), Sarvesh Sawant, under the supervision of Police Inspector Deepak Pednekar A man has been arrested on charges of attempting to trade sensitive data through online platforms using cryptocurrency transactions from Goa, police said. The accused, identified as Vishal Gohil, 42, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, was arrested on Wednesday in Calangute, police offici ...Read More >
MANDYA: Tension gripped Elechakanahalli village in Mandya taluk after Dalits were allegedly denied entry into Maramma temple by upper caste people. As the situation escalated, heavy police deployment was made to prevent any untoward incidents. The controversy began when upper caste villagers reportedly blocked Dalits from entering Maramma temple, leading to clashes between the two communities. Taluk authorities temporarily sealed the temple and enforced tight security in the area. Later, leaders from both communities placed separate locks on the temple doors, further deepening the standoff. ...Read More >
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Bengaluru Crime: A woman's body, believed to be between 30 and 35 years old, was found stuffed inside a sack and dumped in a garbage truck in Bengaluru early Thursday. The identity of the woman is yet to be confirmed. Police said the sack was discovered by BBMP sanitation workers who immediately alerted the authorities. The body was found with her hands and neck tied, raising strong suspicion of murder. Officials stated that the body had been placed inside a gunny bag before being thrown into the garbage vehicle. Joint Commissioner of Police, C Vamsi Krishna, confirmed that the body has been ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, 29 Jun: The Centre has asked states and union territories to make any proposed changes in the boundaries of administrative units before 31 December, when they will be considered final for the census exercise. In a letter to all states and union territories, Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India Mritunjay Kumar Narayan said that for the census, all villages and towns are divided into uniform enumeration blocks and for each block an enumerator is assigned to avoid any miss or repetition during the population count. According to norms, the census can be conducted only th ...Read More >
Jaipur: In a decisive move, the state govt informed the Rajasthan High Court Tuesday it would not cancel the controversial 2021 sub-inspector recruitment examination, despite allegations of paper leaks and use of dummy candidates. After months of protests for and against the demand to cancel the exam as well as the court's directives for administrative clarity in the matter, the state govt finally made its stand clear during the hearing before the single bench of Justice Sameer Jain.Advocate general Rajendra Prasad, representing the state govt, said, "The decision to continue with the recruitm ...Read More >
Gorakhpur: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday inaugurated the city's second Kalyan Mandapam, constructed at a cost of ₹4.52 crore in Surajkund Colony. He lauded the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation for being the first civic body in the state to spearhead such an initiative.Speaking at the event, the CM said, "It is the duty of a democratically elected govt to provide resources and facilities that cater to all income groups." He added that five more Kalyan Mandapams are under construction and announced the allocation of his entire MLA fund for the project.The 35,500 sq ft Mandapam offers a ...Read More >