India

Pratibha Patil backs Nari Shakti Law. NEW DELHI: Former President Pratibha Devisingh Patil wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing her strong support for the implementation of the women’s quota bill, calling it a ‘transformative step’ for India’s democracy.Patil, who served as the country’s first woman and 12th President from 2007 to 2012, said the…

Congress leader Pawan Khera NEW DELHI: In a setback to Congress leader Pawan Khera, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Telangana high court’s order granting him one-week transit anticipatory bail in connection with allegations against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.The top court, however, said that the Congress leader can…

NEW DELHI: Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday took oath as Bihar’s chief minister, becoming the first leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party to assume the top post in the state.His elevation follows the exit of Nitish Kumar, who stepped down after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha, marking a major political transition in Bihar after more…

As Tamil Nadu heads to polls on April 23, the election campaign is finding a new soundtrack — catchy, hyperlocal, AI-generated songs designed to stick in voters’ minds long after the rally ends. From Coimbatore to the Cauvery delta, candidates are trying to strike the right chord with the electorate through customised campaign tunes, with…

Last month, when Kamal Haasan drove into Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters in Chennai, to accept the Rajya Sabha nomination from CM M K Stalin, it marked the end of the road for the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder’s promise to provide an alternative to the two Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu.Haasan launched MNM in…

KOLKATA: Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Gorkha issue will be solved in a constitutional manner without dividing Bengal, if voted to office.Signalling a shift from the earlier position of Bengal BJP netas, who had been supporting Gorkhaland, Shah said at a rally in South Dinajpur’s Gangarampur: “I want to tell my…

NEW DELHI: A team comprising CBI officials and legal experts is learnt to have reached London in connection with the final formalities in the Nirav Modi case. Sources said the team had gone there for discussions with the counsels as the fugitive diamantaire has exhausted all his legal options in the UK.The move comes in…

KOLKATA: Not a single applicant approaching the appellate tribunal against SIR deletion nor their lawyers seem to have any clarity about the process to follow if they want to get back on the voter roll.Haridevpur resident Aloke Basu had gone to Joka’s Dr Syama Prasad Mookherjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation for two consecutive…

NEW DELHI: In a move that aligns with New Delhi’s consistent position that Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) is an integral part of India, the Delimitation Bill, 2026 incorporates a provision authorising Election Commission to conduct delimitation of J&K constituencies that are currently under occupation by Pakistan whenever they “cease to be so occupied”.The elected…

NEW DELHI: On the occasion of B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on Tuesday, PM Narendra Modi said the proposed Constitutional amendment related to Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyan (Women’s Reservation Act) is guided by the spirit of “equality and inclusivity” which the Constitution drafted by him emphasised. “Our democracy will become stronger and more vibrant if…