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Bengal file order signals power shift
West Bengal’s top bureaucracy moved to secure government records on Monday as the state headed towards a change of power, with Chief Secretary Dushyant Nariala directing every department to prevent removal, damage, copying or unauthorised handling of official files and papers. The order, issued from the office of the...
Rahul reaches out after poll upheaval
Congress moved quickly to reopen channels with regional leaders after Assembly verdicts across five states redrew the Opposition map, with Rahul Gandhi speaking to Mamata Banerjee, M K Stalin and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder Vijay as the party sought to limit political damage and preserve space for wider anti-BJP...
Adhikari frames Bhabanipur win in identity terms
Suvendu Adhikari’s defeat of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur has deepened the political shock around the Bharatiya Janata Party’s advance in the state, with the opposition leader immediately casting the verdict as evidence of religious consolidation behind his campaign. Adhikari, who had defeated Banerjee in Nandigram...
Vijay wave jolts Tamil Nadu rivals
Actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam appeared set for a dramatic breakthrough in Tamil Nadu on Monday, as early counting trends placed the debutant party ahead in a state long dominated by the DMK and AIADMK. Two hours after counting began for the 234-member Assembly, TVK was leading in 85...
Haj fare hike puts pilgrims under strain
Congress has demanded the immediate withdrawal of a Haj Committee of India circular asking pilgrims to pay an additional ₹10,000 each towards airfare for Haj 2026, turning a late-stage cost revision into a political dispute over affordability, planning and the government’s handling of one of the world’s largest annual...
Nashik bail order sharpens TCS scrutiny
Nashik’s sessions court has refused pre-arrest protection to Nida Ejaz Khan, a key accused in the Tata Consultancy Services BPO workplace abuse case, tightening the police investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, coercion and pressure linked to religious conversion at the company’s Nashik unit. Additional Sessions Judge KG Joshi...
Chadha bloc takes Punjab fight to Murmu
Raghav Chadha and six other Rajya Sabha MPs who shifted from the Aam Aadmi Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party are set to meet President Droupadi Murmu on May 5, escalating a bitter confrontation with the AAP-led Punjab government over allegations of political vendetta and misuse of state machinery....
Faith law stirs Arunachal street protests
Thousands of Christians across Arunachal Pradesh have taken to the streets demanding repeal of the Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1978, turning a long-dormant statute into a flashpoint over constitutional freedoms, tribal identity and the future of inter-faith relations in the border state. Rallies, sit-ins and dharnas led...
Air India cuts deepen fuel crisis pressure
Air India’s plan to trim international flights through July has triggered a political attack from the Congress, which accused the Centre of allowing rising fuel costs and airspace disruption to weaken one of the country’s largest carriers. The criticism followed internal communication from Air India Chief Executive Officer and...
Arson jolts TVK before counting
A Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam campaign office near Srirangam in Tiruchirappalli district was allegedly set on fire early on Friday, intensifying concerns over law-and-order risks before the May 4 counting of votes in Tamil Nadu’s Assembly election. The office, a thatched structure used by TVK workers for election activity in...
Court limits prayer claims on public land
Allahabad High Court has ruled that public land cannot be claimed for exclusive religious use, holding that offering Namaz or organising recurring religious gatherings on such property remains subject to public order, civic access and the rights of others. A Division Bench of Justice Saral Srivastava and Justice Garima...
Kailash pilgrimage signals cautious thaw
Pilgrims from India will again travel to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar this summer, with China agreeing to facilitate the journey of 1,000 devotees in a move that adds a measured note of goodwill to a relationship still shaped by border distrust. Kailash Manasarovar Yatra 2026 will run from...
Hormuz swarm threat unsettles oil routes
Iran’s fast-attack boat fleet has become a central risk for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, raising the prospect that a relatively low-cost naval force could disrupt one of the world’s most important energy corridors. The threat is not built around large warships. It rests on speedboats, fast inshore...
Court shields Gandhi from FIR push
Rahul Gandhi secured a significant legal reprieve on Friday after the Allahabad High Court dismissed a petition seeking registration of an FIR against him over his 2025 remark that the Congress was fighting the BJP, the RSS and the “Indian State itself”. Justice Vikram D Chauhan, sitting as a...
Khera secures relief in Assam case
Supreme Court protection from arrest has given Congress leader Pawan Khera legal breathing room in a politically charged Assam case linked to his allegations against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma. A bench of Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice A S Chandurkar granted Khera anticipatory...
Congress presses vote rights debate
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has demanded that voting be elevated to a fundamental right, alleging that citizens’ access to the franchise is under strain and accusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of presiding over an Election Commission that has lost public confidence. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ramesh...
Court shields Harbhajan amid security row
Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Punjab authorities to ensure that Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh and his family face no physical harm while they are in the state, stepping into a dispute over the withdrawal of his security cover. Justice Jagmohan Bansal issued the interim direction on...
JNU faculty challenge deepens – Newspack Live!
Jawaharlal Nehru University’s teachers’ body has intensified its campaign against Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, asking President Droupadi Murmu, the Visitor of the university, to remove her from office over alleged abuse of authority and violations of institutional procedures. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association sent its fourth letter to...
