Gupta is the party's national spokesperson and his name was declared in the list announced by the party on March 12. 

"Due to serious medical condition, my father is admitted in hospital and I am withdrawing my candidature for Ahmedabad east parliament seat as Congress Candidate. I will extend complete support to the new candidate nominated by party," Gupta posted on social media platform X. 

Gupta also posted an image of his handwritten letter to Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil informing about his withdrawal. -- PTI

Murthy has gifted 15 lakh shares, or 0.04 per cent of his equity holding, to Rohan Narayana Murty son Master Ekagrah Rohan Murty --making him the youngest billionaire shareholder of Infosys. 

The value of total gifted shares come to around Rs 240 crore as per company's closing share price of Rs 1,602.3 apiece. 

Ekagrah is the third grandchild of Narayana Murthy. His first two grandchildren are daughters of Akshata Murty and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. -- PTI

The review plea filed by Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana said the top court erred while passing the impugned order and overruling judgment dated May 13, 2022, passed by another bench of the apex court. 

The Gujarat government and two of the 11 convicts have already filed a petition seeking a review of the January 8 verdict in which remission orders of all of them were cancelled and they asked to surrender. 

Listing reasons for seeking a review of the verdict, the plea said the top court bench erred in its finding "on the ground that the remission order passed by the competent authority cannot be challenged on factual grounds, inter alia, the nature of the crime, impact on society and society's cry for justice after the conviction and sentence has attained finality in the eyes of law." 

It said that overruling of the judgment dated May 13, 2022, passed by a coordinate of this court, which allowed the Gujarat government to grant remission as per the 1992 policy, the impugned order of January 8 was in contravention of the doctrine of Comity of Courts. -- PTI

The BJP's student wing, however, denied the accusation. Several students sustained injuries during the chaos, prompting top officials to swiftly respond to the scene, police added. 

Members of the Post-Graduate Students Union, GU's elected student body, asserted that ABVP members tore down anti-CAA posters displayed at a university gate, sparking confrontations that escalated into a physical altercation. 

ABVP, which was conducting a meeting in a hall on the university premises, refuted PGSU's claim and alleged that its members faced anti-CAA slogans and were obstructed from entering the premises. 

Injured students received treatment at a nearby hospital, police said. 

"Our top officials promptly arrived at the scene, and the situation has now been brought under control," they added. -- PTI

A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta passed the order while hearing Abbas Ansari's plea challenging the Allahabad high court order rejecting his bail application in the case. 

Abbas Ansari, the son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, had moved the apex court against the November 20 last year order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court. 

An FIR was lodged against the MLA from Mau constituency on October 12, 2019, for alleged irregularities in obtaining arms licence and buying guns. 

During the arguments on Monday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Abbas Ansari, said the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case. The counsel representing Uttar Pradesh opposed the plea. 

The apex court had on January 22 sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on the plea. 

"Although the applicant's (Abbas Ansari) license issued initially at Lucknow had become invalidated on October 1, 2015, on the strength of the same license he got a license issued at New Delhi on June 1, 2017 and he purchased as many as 7 firearms," the high court had noted in its order. 

Abbas Ansari had obtained a gun licence from Lucknow in 2012.

The Congress central election committee, chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, is also likely to meet later that evening to finalise the names of the remaining candidates for the seven-phase polls beginning April 19. 

The manifesto committee has already sent the draft document to the CWC, the party's top decision-making body, for its nod. 

The CWC would meet on March 19 and okay the draft manifesto which carries the five 'guarantees' for justice. 

The party is fighting this elections on the issue of 'five nyay' (justice) -- 'Bhagidari Nyay', 'Kisan Nyay', 'Nari Nyay', 'Shramik Nyay' and 'Yuva Nyay' -- giving 25 guarantees, five for each nyay, which have already been announced by the Congress president Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi. 

Sources said the party's CEC would also discuss and finalise the party candidates for remaining seats. 

The Congress has so far announced a total of 82 candidates in two separate lists -- first list of 39 candidates and the second of 43. -- PTI

"Deeply saddened to learn about the unfortunate demise of Mr. Abhijeeth Paruchuru, an Indian student in Boston," the Consulate General of India in New York said in a post on X. 

Paruchuru's parents are based in Connecticut and are in direct touch with detectives. Initial investigations rule out foul play, the consulate said. 

The consulate said it "rendered assistance in documentation and transportation of his mortal remains to India' and it remains in touch with local authorities as well as the Indian-American community in the matter. 

According to sources, 20-year-old Paruchuru's last rites have already been performed in his hometown Tenali in Andhra Pradesh. 

US-based nonprofit organisation TEAM Aid had helped to bring his mortal remains to India. 

Since the beginning of 2024, there have been at least half a dozen deaths of Indian and Indian-origin students in the US. 

The alarming rise in the number of attacks has caused concern among the community. -- PTI

Vivek Sahay, a 1988-batch IPS officer, previously served as the director general and commandant general of Home Guards. 

Rajeev Kumar, who was appointed as the DGP last December, was reassigned to the information and technology department, a role unrelated to election duties. 

Sources said the move is an interim arrangement. 

The decision to transfer Rajeev Kumar stemmed from his previous removal from active election management duties during the 2016 assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. 

Consequently, the EC instructed the chief secretary BP Gopalika to reassign Kumar to a non-election-related role and appoint an officer junior to him as DGP temporarily. 

In response to the EC's directive, the state government provided a panel of three officers for consideration: Vivek Sahay, Sanjay Mukherjee, and Rajesh Kumar. -- PTI

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader was arrested by the ED in June, 2023 in a money laundering case.

Principal sessions judge S Alli, before whom Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Central Puzhal Prison in Chennai, extended his judicial custody till Thursday.

The judge also posted to March 21, further hearing of a petition filed by Senthil Balaji, which sought to discharge him from the money laundering case.

Balaji was arrested on June 14, 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during an previous AIADMK regime. 

His multiple bail pleas have been dismissed by the courts. -- PTI

In a release issued on Monday evening, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the 15 percent water cut for the 24-hour period is in addition to the 5 percent water cut in force till April 24 due to pre-monsoon maintenance work at the Bhandup complex. 

The release said there is inadequate water stock in the dam in Pise in Thane district, some 60 kilometres from the metropolis. As per the release, the water supply to the city will be restored once the Pise dam receives water from Bhatsa reservoir 48 kilometres away. 

"A rubber bladder of one of the 32 gates of the Pise dam malfunctioned, resulting in water leakage from it on December 16. To repair the bladder, the dam's water level had to be brought down to 31 metres, for which water supply from Bhatsa reservoir was regulated," it said. 

"The rubber bladder has been repaired, but the dam level is not adequate for pumping of water to Mumbai via the treatment plant in Panjarpole. Water from Bhatsa reservoir has been released, but as it is 48 kilometres away from the (Pise) dam, it is expected to take time for the water to reach and bring it to adequate levels," the release added. -- PTI

Thackeray had addressed the audience as his "deshbhakt and deshpremi brothers and sisters" instead of the traditional invocation of "Hindu brothers and sisters" at the Shivaji Park gathering in Mumbai. 

Shivaji Park has been associated with rallies of Shiv Sena since the days of Bal Thackeray, who would begin his speech with "my Hindu brothers and sisters" phrase. 

"BJP leaders criticised me over the opening sentence of my speech in the rally. But I want to ask them aren't they patriots?" Uddhav Thackeray said while addressing a rally in Vasmat in Hingoli district. 

Thackeray said he used the "deshpremi" word because the INDIA bloc wanted to save the country and democracy. 

"But some BJP leaders criticised me alleging that my language (read the Hindutva stand) has changed. I want to ask them aren't you patriots? Are you Modi bhakts or deshbhakts? We are deshbhakts and not Modibhakts," he said. -- PTI

Jaleel, who is also the Maharashtra unit president of the Hyderabad-based party, was keen to contest from one of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Mumbai, but AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi renominated the journalist-turned-politician from his current seat which will go to polls on May 13 in phase four. 

Owaisi took to social media platform X to announce Jaleel's candidature and said he will contest from Aurangabad (now called Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar). 

The Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP also announced the candidature of AIMIM leader Akhtarul Iman from the Kishanganj parliamentary seat in Bihar. 

Iman is AIMIM's Bihar unit president. 

Earlier, Jaleel had expressed interest in contesting from one of the Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai and sent a proposal to the party leadership in this regard. 

The Lok Sabha member did not reply to phone calls seeking reaction over renomination from his sitting seat. 

Jaleel won in 2019 after defeating undivided Shiv Sena's candidate Chandrakant Khaire by a margin of 4,492 votes from the seat in the state's Marathwada region. 

Independent candidate Harshawardhan Jadhav had secured 2.83 lakh votes and contributed in Khaire's defeat. -- PTI

Anand, a former Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, joined the party at a function here in the presence of JD-U's former national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan'. 

Several senior leaders of the party were also present on the occasion. 

"For me, it is like a homecoming. Whatever responsibilities the party gives me, I will deliver my best", Anand said soon after joining JD-U. 

Anand is the wife of former MP Anand Mohan, who was released from jail last year after serving 15 years of imprisonment in a murder case. 

It may be recalled that soon after the formation of the NDA government in Bihar, Anand's son and RJD MLA Chetan had switched sides to the JD-U camp during the trust vote of the Nitish Kumar government in the assembly. -- PTI

"Jain arrived at Tihar jail in the evening. The formal procedure of lodging him in the prison is on," a jail official said. 

Jain left his Saraswati Vihar residence in northwest Delhi around 6 pm to surrender at the jail. 

The top court rejected an oral request by Jain's counsel to allow him to surrender in a week's time. 

The SC had on January 17 reserved its verdict on his regular bail plea. 

The top court had granted interim bail to Jain on May 26, 2023 on medical grounds, and it was extended from time to time. 

Jain has moved the apex court challenging the April 6, 2023 order of the Delhi high court dismissing his regular bail application in the case.  -- PTI

"Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation," Modi said in a post on 'X'. 

"Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come," he said. 

Reports from Moscow said Putin won a historic fifth term as Russian President in a landslide victory. 

There has been criticism of the election process by some Western countries. 

"If we talk about the illegitimacy of elections in our country, then we should probably talk about the illegitimacy of those 87 percent of the votes of the population...that were cast for President Putin. This is absurd," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a media briefing in Moscow. -- PTI

Elections to the four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh and bypolls to the six assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs will be held on June 1. 

According to a notification issued by the party, Congress chief for Himachal Pradesh and sitting MP from Mandi Pratibha Singh has appointed urban development minister Vikramaditya Singh the election in-charge in Mandi, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri in Hamirpur, education minister Rohit Thakur in Shimla and agriculture minister Chander Kumar in Kangra. 

The party has also appointed Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan as the in-charge of publicity and publication and Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi as the in-charge of administration and coordination, it said. 

The six assembly seats fell vacant after the six rebel Congress MLAs who abstained from voting on the cut motion and finance bill (Budget) in the assembly were disqualified for defying a party whip to be present in the Assembly and vote in favour of the government. -- PTI

One seat each has been given to the Rashtriya Lok Morcha of former Union minister Upendar Kushwaha and Hindustani Awam Morcha of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.

As expected, Union minister Pasupati Kumar Paras's RLJP, an old ally of the BJP, was not given a single seat to contest in the elections.

Now all eyes are on Paras to see if he quit NDA and resign from the Modi cabinet. -- MI Khan in Patna

The elections in the state will be held on May 13. 

The CEO, in a media briefing, said Telangana has 3.30 crore voters including over 1.94 lakh electors above 85 years of age, and after the assembly polls in November last year, nearly 12.50 lakh new voters have been enrolled while 8.58 lakh names were deleted. 

The net addition of voters stands at four lakh. 

About 1.80 lakh staff are required in polling stations and over 25,000 people will be deployed for other duties in addition to 40,000 booth level officers and supervisors, he said. 

As many as 57,000 ballot units, 44,500 control units, 48,000 VVPAT machines are required for the polls, he said and added that the FLC (first level check) was done for all the machines in the presence of political parties. 

"My appeal to the citizens and voters of the state is not to carry cash above Rs 50,000 or articles worth over Rs 50,000 without valid documents. If they need to carry it for essential reasons, they should carry papers for it," the CEO said. -- PTI

 He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of twisting his words and said he was speaking about the power of which Modi was wearing the mask. "Modi ji does not like my words, he always tries to change their meaning by twisting them in some way or the other because he knows that I have spoken a solemn truth. 

 "The 'shakti' (power) that I mentioned, Modi ji is the mask of that power and we are fighting against it. It is such a power that today it has captured India's voice, India's institutions, the CBI, I-T, ED, Election Commission, the media, Indian industry and the entire constitutional structure of India in its clutches," he said in post in Hindi on X. 

Using the same 'shakti' (power), he alleged, Prime Minister Narendra Modi waives loans worth thousands of crores of Indian banks, while an Indian farmer commits suicide when he is unable to repay a loan of a few thousand rupees. 

"The same 'shakti' (power) is given India's ports, India's airports, while India's youth is given the gift of 'Agniveer' that breaks their courage. While saluting the same power day and night, the country's media suppresses the truth. 

"Narendra Modi ji, who is a slave of the same power, imposes GST on the poor of the country without controlling inflation and auctions the country's wealth to increase the strength of that power. 

"I recognise that power and so does Narendra Modi ji. It is not any kind of religious power, it is the power of unrighteousness, corruption and falsehood. That's why whenever I raise my voice against it, Modi ji and his machine of lies gets upset and enraged," Gandhi said. 

At a rally in Mumbai, Gandhi commented that the "fight against Modi is not on a personal level since Modi is a 'mask' who works for a 'shakti' (power)". 

 Alleging that the INDIA bloc's manifesto talks about finishing 'shakti', Prime Minister Modi on Monday said the fight is between those who want to destroy 'shakti' and those who worship them. Addressing a rally in Telangana, Modi said that for him, every mother and every daughter is a form of 'shakti' and that he worships them. He said the nation dedicated 'Chandrayaan's' success to 'Shiv Shakti' and the opposition parties are talking of destroying 'shakti'.

 A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, at a rally in Mumbai, commented that the "fight against Modi is not on a personal level since Modi is a 'mask' who works for a 'Shakti' (power)", the prime minister asserted that the fight is between those who want to destroy 'Shakti' and those who worship it. 

 Prime Minister Modi, referring to the opposition rally in Mumbai's Shivaji Park, said, "They announced their manifesto... and said their fight was against 'Shakti'. For me, every mother and every daughter is a form of 'Shakti'. Mothers and sisters, I worship you as 'Shakti'. I am Bharat Maa's pujari." 

 In retaliation, the Congress likened the BJP to 'Asuri Shakti' and alleged that the nation has seen atrocities against women in the last 10 years and cited the rape cases in Unnao, Kathua and Hathras as well as the harassment of women wrestlers. 

 "The prime minister is upset and the entire BJP is talking baseless things after Rahul Gandhi attacked 'Asuri Shakti'. This election is between 'Asuri Shakti' and 'Daivik Shakti'," Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera said. 

 He claimed that the people of the country, be it farmers, youths, women and the poor, are all standing with Rahul Gandhi and he will emerge victorious in this election. 

 "Where was the prime minister's worship of the 'Shakti' when female wrestlers were being harassed and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was sitting inside their homes? Where was your 'shakti ki upasna' at the time," Khera posed. 

 "This election will decide whether the country will be run by 'Asuri Shakti' or 'Daivik Shakti'. This country always got its strength from 'Daivik Shakti' and the youths, women and farmers are standing with Rahul Gandhi," the Congress leader said. 

 Asserting that this country would not be run by demonic power anymore, but by divine power, he said 10 years ago "when the BJP was organising morchas in favour of rapists in Kathua, Unnao and Hathras, did you not remember worshipping of Shakti." "When women were being made to run naked in Manipur, which power was keeping you silent?" he posed. In a post on X, Khera asserted that divine power would be victorious in the election. 

"Rahul Gandhi will win. India alliance will win. The youth of this country will win. The farmers of this country will win. Mother India will win," he said. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that "those speaking on Hindu religion and power remained silent after seeing the brutality of the demonic crowds in Manipur, remained silent on the trampling of promising daughters in Delhi, remained silent on the hanging bodies of two minor girls in Kanpur and remained silent on the brutality of Hathras." 

 "All these were forms of power. No one has forgotten the barbarity meted out to the daughters of this country in the last 10 years. The powers that control a hollow man through remote have been exposed - the 'vasuli man' is stunned," Shrinate said in a post in Hindi on X. PTI

 Addressing a press conference, TMC general secretary Kunal Ghosh claimed that BJP was gripped by the fear of losing the Lok Sabha seats in the state.

 Seeking to ensure a level playing field in the Lok Sabha elections, the EC ordered the removal of home secretaries of six states and West Bengal's director general of police (DGP), besides the secretary of the general administrative departments of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh.

 "The BJP is trying to misuse all institutions, including the Election Commission. They are even meddling with the appointment of the election commissioners by changing the recruitment panel. The step taken today is a glaring example of the BJP's control over the EC," Ghosh said.

 "It doesn't matter if BJP changes even 100 such officers because the people of Bengal are with Mamata Banerjee," he added. Elections for the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal will be held over seven phases, beginning on April 19. PTI

 "On January 31, our practical exam was going on in a pharmacology department. At around 1.15 pm, I had to appear before an assistant professor of Pharmacology for a practical viva. The professor had kept the chair close to himself even though students usually sit across the table from the teachers." 

 Further, the complainant said that the professor gave her some documents and he kept on asking her inappropriate and irrelevant questions which made her feel uncomfortable, read the FIR. 

 "When I stopped answering he sent me out and asked me to come again. Then he started asking me about injections and inappropriately touched me. He touched my neck and tried to touch my private parts on the pretext of asking questions," she alleged. 

 "When I stood up to leave, he asked me about breast abscess (medical condition) and made inappropriate gestures," it stated. 

 The victim told police that the assistant professor asked her to come to the department alone as he would teach her how to write answers in a way that would fetch her more marks. 

 "He also told me that he was going to check our written exam answer sheets so he will take care of the marks if I am cooperative enough," read the FIR.

 The complainant also alleged that similar incidents had happened with other students too, but they remained silent as they feared failing the exam. She also claimed that she lodged a complaint to the concerned authorities, but no action was taken against the assistant professor. 

 "Our HOD also supported him and defamed me among other teachers by telling them that these girls are making false allegations," the FIR stated. Police have registered an FIR under sections 354A (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code against the accused. PTI

"We are not going to stay the disqualification," the apex court said.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta also denied the six MLAs permission to vote or participate in proceedings of the House.

The top court listed the matter for the second week of May.

The court was apprised of the fact that date of the general elections has been announced and that the date of filing of nomination has been notified for this May.

On February 29, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified six Congress MLAs Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal under the anti-defection law.

After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.

 The 71-year-old former Union Minister, who is celebrating his birthday today, expressed his displeasure over being denied the ticket to contest from Bangalore North again and said "there is nothing left to say that BJP is a party with a difference in Karnataka." 

 BJP shifted Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje, who is currently representing Udupi Chikmagalur Lok Sabha segment, to contest from Bangalore North.

 "It is true that I have been contacted by others, it is also true that our party leaders also contacted and discussed with me. Last night a predominant office bearer of our party came to me and tried to pacify me. Various things are happening," Gowda, a former State BJP President, said in response to a question. Speaking to reporters here, he said today being his birthday he would like to spend time with family and well wishers. 

 "After that, making a decision, I will come before you, and address the media...I have to share my inner feelings. I have to discuss with my family on my decision, after my consciousness, I have to consult my family," he added. 

 Claiming that BJP National General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal had told him that out of 28 constituencies, Bangalore North was the only segment where there is no other candidate other than him, Gowda said he has information about certain developments that have happened in Delhi and here in the party. 

 "I had decided to stay away from electoral politics, but I was pulled back asking me to contest by all senior state leaders, but no one came to my rescue at the last minute, and have caused some embarrassment to me," he said.

 It also ordered the removal of the West Bengal director general of police, they added. Also, the secretary of the general administrative departments of Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh have been removed. 

 Days after announcing the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections, the poll panel under CEC Rajiv Kumar also ordered removal of Brihanmumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, additional commissioners and deputy commissioners. 

 The commission had directed all the state governments to transfer officers connected with election-related work, who have completed three years or are in their home districts. Maharashtra had not complied with the directions in respect of few municipal commissioners and some additional and deputy municipal commissioners. While conveying displeasure to the state chief secretary, the commission directed transfer of BMC and the additional and deputy commissioners with the direction to report by 6 pm on Monday. 

 The chief secretary was also directed to transfer all the similarly placed municipal commissioners and additional or deputy municipal commissioners of other corporations in Maharashtra. 

 The step is a part of the commission's efforts to maintain a level-playing field and ensure the integrity of the electoral process, which has been emphasised by CEC Kumar on several occasions. The move comes after the commission comprising CEC Kumar and fellow ECs Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu met here on Monday. PTI

These states are Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

Additionally, the Secretary of the General Administrative Department in Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh have also been removed. The Election Commission has also taken the necessary action to remove the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal.

 The Bahujan Samaj Party's state in-charge also joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Syed Zafar, a former Congress spokesperson, joined the BJP in Bhopal in the presence of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and the party's state head VD Sharma.

 Zafar, a native of Chhindwara, was considered a close associate of Congress veteran and former chief minister Kamal Nath. As per his profile on X, he was currently holding the post of MP Congress general secretary. However, state Congress media department chairman K K Mishra said Zafar was not holding any post in the party at present. Earlier this month, there were speculations that Nath might switch over to the BJP, but he refuted such reports as "creation of media."

Addressing a rally in Mumbai on Sunday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi claimed a leader from Maharashtra cried in front of his mother Sonia Gandhi, saying he felt ashamed that he could not "fight this power any more and didn't want to go to jail". Reacting to it, Chavan in a video message on Monday said Rahul Gandhi made the statement in a rally on Sunday and did not take anybody's name. 

 "But if he is saying that about me, then it is illogical and baseless. The truth is that till I resigned from the Congress, I was working at the party headquarters. I resigned from the post of MLA and a few moments later resigned from the party also. Till then, no one knew that I had resigned," the former state chief minister said. 

 "I never met Sonia Gandhi. It is baseless (to say) that I met Sonia Gandhi and expressed my emotions. It is a political statement from the election point of view," Chavan said. 

 After Chavan quit the Congress last month, he joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which nominated him for the Rajya Sabha poll from Maharashtra. Chavan was later declared elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed.

 "The INDI alliance in their manifesto said that their fight is against 'Shakti'. For me, every mother, daughter and sister is a form of 'Shakti'. I worship them in the form of 'Shakti'. I am the worshiper of Bharat Mata...Their manifesto is to finish 'Shakti', and I accept the challenge...'Main jaan ki baazi laga dunga'," PM Modi said.

 He further said that his government dedicated the success of the Chandrayaan mission by naming the point where Chandrayaan landed as 'Shiv Shakti'. 

 "Can someone talk about the destruction of 'Shakti'?...We dedicated the success of the Chandrayaan mission by naming the point where Chandrayaan landed as 'Shiv Shakti'...The fight is between those who want to destroy 'Shakti' and those who worship 'Shakti'...'Muqabla 4 June ko ho jaaega'," he added.

 The Prime Minister further said that on the one hand there are people who talk about the destruction of power while on the other hand there are people who worship Shakti. 

 Rahul Gandhi, in his comments made on Sunday in Maharashtra, had raised concerns about the operation of Electronic Voting Machines, using the Hindi word 'Shakti' to emphasize the Opposition's struggle against the might of the state.

 On March 10, Yadav shared the information that the five-year-old South African cheetah gave birth to five cubs at the Kuno National Park (KNP). In a post on his official X account on Monday morning, Yadav said, "Gamini's legacy leaps forward! There is no end to joy: It is not five, but six cubs! A week after the news of five cubs born to Gamini, it is now confirmed that Gamini, the South African cheetah mother, has given birth to six cubs, a record of sorts for a first-time mother." 

 The minister also shared the visuals of cheetah Gamini's six cubs.

Soundararajan, who was Tamil Nadu BJP chief till 2019, was appointed as Telangana Governor in September 2019. She was given additional charge as L-G of Puducherry.

 A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said there is "no manner of doubt" that the SBI is required to disclose complete details of the bonds. 

 It directed the SBI chairman to file an affidavit before it by 5 pm on March 21 indicating that the bank has disclosed all the details. 

 During the hearing, the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B R Gavai, J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that the SBI can't be selective and has to disclose all "conceivable" electoral bond details in its possession, including unique bond numbers that would disclose the link between the buyer and the recipient political party. 

 The bench said the apex court had, in its verdict in the electoral bonds case, asked the bank to disclose all the details of the bonds and it should not wait for further orders on this aspect. 

 "We had asked all details to be disclosed by the SBI which includes electoral bond numbers as well. Let SBI not be selective in disclosure," the bench orally said during the hearing. 

 Last week, the top court issued a notice to the country's largest bank to explain the reasons for the non-disclosure of unique alphanumeric numbers in compliance with its directions, saying the SBI was "duty bound" to reveal them. 

 On April 12, 2019, the apex court issued an interim order directing that the information about the donations received and donations which will be received must be submitted by political parties to the EC in a sealed cover.

 In its landmark verdict on February 15, the top court had scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme that allowed anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" and ordered disclosure by the EC of donors, the amount donated by them and the recipients by March 13. PTI

 Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that with each passing day, more examples emerge on the true depths of the "electoral bond scam". "Today, we zoom in on the 'Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana', the second of the four channels of corruption in the Electoral Bond Scam: 1.Chanda Do, Dhandha Lo 2.Hafta Vasuli," Ramesh said in a post on X.

 On November 10, 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested P Sarath Chandra Reddy, the director of Aurobindo Pharma, in connection with its money laundering case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the Delhi government's liquor policy and five days later, on November 15, Aurobindo Pharma donated electoral bonds worth Rs 5 crore, he claimed. "Navayuga Engineering Company Limited bought electoral bonds worth Rs 30 crore in April 2019, six months after it was raided by the Income Tax Department in October 2018," he said. 

 In the early hours of December 7, 2023, three units of Rungta Sons Pvt. Ltd. in Ramgarh were raided by the Income Tax Department and on January 11, 2024, the company purchased 50 electoral bonds worth Rs 1 crore each, Ramesh alleged Before this, the firm only donated in April 2021, he pointed out. 

 "Hyderabad-based Shirdi Sai Electricals Limited faced income tax raids on December 20 2023. On January 11, 2024, the company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 40 crore," the Congress leader claimed. 

 "In November 2023, Income Tax officials raided an employee of Reddy's Labs, for alleged cash transactions. Just after the raids, the company purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 31 crore, followed by Rs 21 crore in November 2023, and Rs 10 crore in January 2024, adding up to Rs 84 crore," he alleged. 

 "These are just key examples: a total of 21 firms who have faced investigations from the CBI, ED, or IT, have donated electoral bonds after the fact," Ramesh said. He also alleged that the government indulged in 'Theka Lo, Rishvat Do' (get business, at a bribe) and through 'Farzi Company' (shell companies).

 "Remember, the IT Department and the ED implement the Pradhan Mantri Hafta Vasuli Yojana. The State Bank of India implements the #ElectoralBondScam. And at the end of the day, all of these institutions report to the same person: the Finance Minister," Ramesh alleged.

"We have asked SBI to disclose all conceivable information on electoral bonds, including bond numbers. Let SBI not selectively release electoral bond details, we want all information disclosed," the Supreme Court said. 

The SC refuses a hearing on unlisted pleas of industry bodies, ASSOCHAM and CII in electoral bonds case also refuses to take note of SCBA president's letter seeking suo motu review of its judgement on disclosure of bond details. "It should not seem that we are playing with court," senior advocate Harish Salve for SBI, tells SC.

She directed Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal to take action against those involved in the illegal construction of the five-storey building which collapsed around midnight in the area. 

 Banerjee also visited the hospital where the injured persons are undergoing treatment. 

"This is a very congested area. This building had no sanction from the authorities and it was illegal. I have told the CP and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to take action," she told reporters after taking stock of the situation. Banerjee with her forehead bandaged visited the place.

 She suffered an injury on her forehead on Thursday evening and underwent stitches. The chief minister said that her government stands by the families whose shanties were damaged in the building collapse. 

 She also said that two persons were killed in the building collapse and five to six people might still be trapped under the debris.

"I will be addressing rallies in Jagtial and Shivamogga today. Later in the evening, will join the roadshow in Coimbatore. Be it Telangana, Karnataka or Tamil Nadu, there is exceptional fervour in the NDA's favour." PM Modi posted on X. 

 Earlier, asserting that the Nationalist Democratic Alliance (NDA) is moving ahead taking regional aspirations and national progress and during its third term after the polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people of Andhra Pradesh to cast vote in favour of the alliance to ensure speedy development of the state. PM Modi, while addressing a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) election meeting at Boppudi village in Palnadu district in the presence of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party (JSP) Pawan Kalyan, hit out at the Congress, accusing it of "using and throwing the people of the alliance" in contrast to the BJP. 

 "NDA alliance moves ahead carrying both regional aspiration and national progress. The support of the BJP in this election, and our partners are continuously increasing, the strength of NDA is increasing, and both Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan have been supporting the rights of the people here, for a long time. In NDA we take everyone along, but on the other hand, there is the Congress party which has only one agenda - to use and throw the people of the alliance. Today Congress may have formed an INDI alliance, but their thinking remains the same," PM Modi had said.

 Asserting that the NDA's aim is for 'Viksit Bharat' and to build 'Viksit Andhra Pradesh', he said a double-engine NDA government in Andhra Pradesh will ensure speedy development of the state. 

 Notably, the BJP has formed an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Jana Sena Party (JSP) for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.

 The incident took place on Sunday evening when devotees were waiting for several hours for the doors of the temple to open.

 A pre-holi celebration was organised at the temple and a huge number of devotees had flocked to the temple when the railing collapsed, according to the temple priest. 

 Dr. Manoj Vashishtha, in-charge of Barsana's Community Health Centre, said 22 people were brought to the centre after the incident and most of them have suffered fractures.

 District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Singh said the injured were provided immediate treatment. The crowd was subsequently controlled and the devotees were facilitated in having a darshan. According to eyewitnesses, a large number of devotees were trying to get hold of 'ladoos' being distributed as part of the celebration at the temple when the incident took place. PTI

The Shiv Sena leader lamented that it was the same place from where his party founder, Balasaheb Thackeray, used to address his people.

"Today is a black day for Shiv Sena people because it was from Shivaji Park that Balasaheb Thackeray addressed the country. Now, the INDIA rally is happening at the same venue. Those who used foul language against Veer Savarkar and made unfounded allegations against him are gathering at Shivaji Park today. This is unfortunate," Shinde told reporters in Mumbai on Sunday.

Accusing the Congress of being anti-Hindu, Shinde said, "How can we say that we are proud Hindus when some people even fear saying the words Hindu Hriday Samrat these days?"

In a veiled dig at former party colleague Uddhav Thackeray, who he claimed tied up with the Congress and the undivided Nationalist Congress Party under Sharad Pawar just to be in power, Shinde said, "In the upcoming elections, people will teach a lesson to those who sacrificed the vision and ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray just for the sake of power."

The ED has issued another summons to Arvind Kejriwal for today in connection with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) money laundering probe.

He was issued a summons by the ED under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the Delhi Jal Board case.

Earlier, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi claimed that the case is 'fake', adding that the party is not aware of the case registered by the ED in this matter.

"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal received another summons yesterday evening by the ED...They have asked him to join some investigations related to the Delhi Jal Board. We are unaware of the case registered by the ED in this matter," she said.

In February this year, ED arrested a retired chief engineer, Jagdish Kumar Arora, and a contractor, Anil Kumar Aggarwal, in connection with its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the tendering process of the DJB.

ED is investigating two separate matters of irregularities in the tendering process of the DJB, and its criminal case stems from an FIR of the CBI and from the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government.

The CBI FIR alleged that officials of the DJB gave "undue advantage" to NKG Infrastructure Limited while awarding the tender to the company for supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of electro-magnetic flow metres in connivance with officials of NBCC (lndia) Limited.

The second allegation pertains to the ACB complaint of November 2022, where it was stated that DJB awarded a tender for setting up automotive bill payment collection machines (kiosks) in its different offices to facilitate consumers in bill payment.

Besides this summons, ED has also issued a ninth summons to Kejriwal in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case asking him to join the investigation on March 21. -- ANI

Two persons died and seven others were injured as an under-construction five-storeyed building collapsed in the Garden Reach area of Kolkata, city mayor Firhad Hakim said on Monday.

Hakim apprehended that some more people might still be trapped under the debris.

The rescue operation is going on at the site located at Azan Molla Lane in the city's western periphery.

"In a horrific accident, an under-construction five-storeyed building collapsed around midnight. Two persons were killed and at least seven people were injured," Hakim said.

At least 10 people were rescued from the site, an official said.

The city mayor said there were still a few persons trapped under the debris and efforts were on to rescue them.

The injured were admitted to a hospital, Hakim said. 

He announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 1 lakh to injured persons. 

Hakim, who is also West Bengal's urban development minister, said "I have spoken to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and we will give Rs five lakh to the next of kin of each deceased person and Rs one lakh to each injured person." 

Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the spot and took stock of the rescue operation.

 

"The under-construction building collapsed in the Garden Reach area late on Sunday night. We have rescued a few people. The recuse operation is still going on," a police official said. -- PTI

Russian President Vladimir Putin won the presidential elections, receiving 87.17 per cent of the votes based on the result of processing 70 per cent of the electoral protocols, Russia-based TASS reported, citing data from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

 

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation candidate Nikolai Kharitonov secured the second spot with 4.1 per cent of the votes while New People Party candidate Vladislav Davankov stood third with 4.8 per cent votes.

 

The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) candidate, Leonid Slutsky, received a mere 3.15 per cent of the votes counted. 

 

According to preliminary data as of 6 pm (Moscow time) on Sunday, the voter turnout in the presidential elections, which for the first time took place over three days from March 15-17, stood at 74.22 per cent. Voter turnout for the elections held in 2018 was 67.54 per cent.

 

Putin received more votes in comparison to the 2018 elections where he bagged 76.69 per cent of the total votes counted. The performance of the other candidates was lower than that of the previous competitors of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, according to reports.

Speaking to reporters after emerging victorious, Putin warned the Western powers that any direct conflict between Russia and the NATO alliance, led by the US, would mean the world will be "one step away" from a full-scale World War III, TASS reported.

However, he also said that it is "unlikely" that anyone is interested in this.

Putin also said that he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader's sudden death in an Arctic prison in February.

 

Calling Navalny's death a 'sad event', Putin said there were other cases of people in prisons passing away.

Putin has served four terms as Russian President. He was first elected President in 2000 and again in 2004, 2012, and 2018.  

A 69-year-old football coach was killed after a dumper knocked him down in Navi Mumbai township of Maharashtra, police said.

The accident took place in Vashi area at around 10.30 am on Saturday when Stanley Nair, who was also a former state-level football player, was out on a scooter to make some purchases, an official from Vashi police station said.

A dumper hit Nair's vehicle. He was injured and rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the official said.

The body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem.

Based on a complaint by the deceased's daughter, a case was registered against the dumper driver, Gokarni Sahani, under Indian Penal Code sections 304-A, (causing death by negligence), 279 (driving or riding a vehicle in a negligent manner), 337 (causing hurt by act which endangers human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, the police said. 

A probe was on into the incident. -- PTI 

Four coaches of Sabarmati-Agra superfast train derailed near Madar railway station in Rajasthan's Ajmer

According to media reports, no casualties have been reported in the incident.

However, several passengers are said to have suffered minor injuries. 

The injured have been taken to Ajmer station for treatment.