IPA Webdesk
Amid Omicron alarm, Mumbai bans large gatherings for 2 days
Mumbai: On a day when the city reported three new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant that took Maharashtra’s tally to 17 and India’s to 32, the police in Mumbai ordered a two-day ban on large gatherings. The restrictions were imposed within the commissionerate limits of Mumbai, prohibiting rallies...
BJP tries to balance caste equations in MP
Continuing with its aggressive cause to woo tribals through different schemes along with the promise of 27 per cent reservation for other backward castes, the BJP in Madhya Pradesh recently observed Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s death anniversary and slammed the Congress for ignoring his contributions. This is widely being seen...
Yogi says BJP will cross 350 seats
The BJP will win more than 350 seats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told News18.com in an interview, adding that he sees no one as a challenge since the work done by his government for the state and for the people gives him confidence....
Farmers sow seeds of change in Punjab’s poll landscape
The ‘ghar wapsi’ of thousands of farmers from Delhi borders after ending their agitation for over a year, could also have an impact on the 2022 Punjab assembly elections. Though the farm leaders have all along maintained that their campaign was purely apolitical, there is no denying the fact...
Cops avert attack on Haryana church
Chandigarh: Members of several right-wing organisations tried to force their way into a church in Haryana’s Rohtak today, and were finally stopped by the police. The crowd alleged that the church was carrying out religious conversion. The BJP-ruled state is planning an anti-conversion law on the lines of the...
Indian-origin Prof first woman president of US varsity
New York: Indian-origin professor Neeli Bendapudi has created history as the first woman and person of colour to be named as the president of America’s prestigious Pennsylvania State University, the educational institution announced on Thursday. Ms Bendapudi, who was born in Visakhapatnam and came to the US in 1986...
Eyewitness says chopper flew low through fog
New Delhi: The helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat seemed to be flying unusually low and before it got enveloped in fog and crashed, killing him and 12 others on board, eyewitnesses have said. Construction worker Jayaseelan was in his Coonoor home when he heard the...
Raut hints at Sena, Cong together fighting BJP in UP, Goa
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had an hour-long meeting with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday to explore the option of an electoral alliance in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and Goa. The meeting comes a day after Raut’s talks with former Congress president Rahul Gandhi. During his meeting...
Condolences pour in from around the world
New Delhi: Condolences over the demise of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat poured in on Wednesday from several countries, including the US, Russia, China and Pakistan. Gen Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 other people on board an Indian Air Force helicopter died in a crash near...
Modi wishes Sonia ‘long life and good health’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday greeted Congress president Sonia Gandhi on her birthday. Gandhi, the longest serving president of her party, turned 75 on Thursday. Best wishes to Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji on her birthday. Praying for her long life and good health.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December...
Jharkhand to introduce anti-lynching bill
To deter incidents of mob assaults and lynching, which has been rising in the tribal state, the Jharkhand Assembly is likely to introduce an anti-lynching bill in its upcoming session, that proposes capital punishment for those lynching individuals, besides provisions for imprisonment for injuring a person, and stiff penalties...
Naga villagers slam Amit Shah’s statement in Parliament
Guwahati: Villagers in Oting, home to 12 of the 13 civilians who were killed in a botched counter-insurgency operation in Nagaland on December 4, have rubbished the official version of events in a strongly-worded statement. They have questioned Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in the Parliament and called it...
Bipin Rawat’s death in ‘very safe’ Mi-17V-5 crash confounds experts
New Delhi: The crash of Mi-17V-5 helicopters, considered extremely reliable and are the workhorses of the Air Force, in which Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and several members of his family have been confirmed dead, has perplexed the experts, who said the flight from Sulur to Wellington did...
Akhilesh returns the compliment to Modi, says BJP dreads red
New Delhi: SP chief Akhliesh Yadav replied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s jibe about red ‘topi’, saying red symbolises emotions, revolution and change. Modi made yet another trip to UP on Monday, while Akhilesh has been criss-crossing the state with his rallies. “The colour red symbolises emotions. The BJP...
BJP shifts political pitch from Ayodhya to Varanasi
Now that the Ram temple issue is settled, BJP seems to have shifted its pitch away from Ayodhya to Kashi. It was generally believed that Ayodhya, where the Ram Mandir is coming up that will become the centre-piece of the Uttar Pradesh elections. But for the BJP, it is...
NCP to work for larger opposition unity against BJP
Praful Patel, NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s second-in-command, after a working committee meeting of the party said that the party’s senior leaders had agreed “to work with like-minded parties for the coming elections.” He did not specifically mention the Congress, but dropped enough indications to the effect that NCP was...
Kejriwal toes Congress line for sops for women
Congress, which has made several promises, including sops for women ranging from a 40 per cent stake for women in ticket distribution for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections to electric Scootys, has taken the move to another level by the release of a special manifesto for UP’s women....
SC to hear Bengal BJP plea for central forces
The Supreme Court will hear on December 13 the BJP plea seeking a direction to the West Bengal government, the state poll panel and other functionaries to prepare a comprehensive action plan and deploy sufficient central police forces to ensure free and fair municipal polls in Kolkata. A bench...
