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Modi on Friday called the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh a «talabaaz sarkar» for shutting down the staff selection commission and said the party also intends to put a «tala», or lock, on Ayodhya's Ram temple. Addressing a 'Vijay Sankalp' rally in Nahan in Sirmaur district, the prime minister claimed a conspiracy is being hatched to snatch the reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and give it to Muslims. As Modi took to the stage, he chanted 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and evoked local deities. Coming to Sirmaur felt like a homecoming, he said. «Neither Nahan nor Sirmaur is new for me but I have to say that today's atmosphere is new as I have never witnessed such a historic rally in Nahan,» he said.

Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Friday granted four days judicial custody of Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar, accused of assaulting the Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. He was produced in the court after his police custody ended today after being arrested on May 18. Meanwhile, Kumar, the former member of Delhi CM's personal staff, also moved an application to protect the DVR seized during the investigation and place it on record. However, Public prosecutor Atul Srivastava opposed the application and submitted that this is not the stage and this application may be dismissed.

Allahabad at Uttar Pradesh's border with Madhya Pradesh. Scores of villagers, including women and children, have gathered outside Khoota village under a tent. Soon, a convoy of SUVs arrives with workers of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress led by INDIA bloc candidate Ujjwal Raman Singh. Singh alights from his Toyota Fortuner and exchanges pleasantries with villagers and local party workers before taking the microphone to address the crowd. «What do the farmers want? Electricity, tubewell, and lift canal so that they get water for their crops. The BJP keeps boasting of its double-engine government and does nothing on the ground,» Singh said, adding that the local MP, the state's CM and the country's PM are all from the BJP yet the party has failed to ensure the welfare of the people of the constituency. «Bhartiya Janata Party ke logan ki neeti aur niyat saaf naahi ba (The BJP people do not have a clear policy and intention),» Singh said in the local 'Ilahabadi' dialect.

India is nearing the end of weeks-long election battle in the world's largest democracy, job talks are taking center stage with the Prime Minister and Opposition making opposite claims. BJP, the ruling party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is talking up good signs in employment, but the opposition, especially Congress leader P. Chidambaram, isn't buying it, asking tough questions and stirring up the conversation. In a recent chat with The Economic Times, PM Modi, who is seeking to return to power for a third term, boasted about job growth in India. “Look at the indicators which prove the job generation. The returns filed by individual taxpayers more than doubled from 3.36 crore in 2013-14 to 8.18 crore in 2023-24,” Modi said. Also Read: Is India suffering from an unemployment issue? PM Modi says the country is generating jobs

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the killing of an elderly woman in Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district. Bose directed Banerjee to take immediate action and submit an action taken report to him, a source told PTI. In an official communication, Bose «cautioned» Banerjee to end what he described as a «blood bath» and ensure all necessary actions are taken within the parameters of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). The governor expressed strong disapproval of what he termed state government-sponsored violence in Nandigram and stressed that any constitutional violations would be taken seriously, with appropriate actions to follow. The communication was sent to the state secretariat on Thursday evening.

BJP candidate from Chandauli Lok Sabha seat, Mahendra Nath Pandey, came out in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while taking a swipe at the Congress' alleged poll promise of a nationwide wealth survey and redistribution, saying that the poor, farmers, women and youth should have first right on the country's resources. Pandey's response came on the heels of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's defiant statement after the Calcutta High Court rendered all OBC certificates issued by her government since 2010 void. Hours after the high court scrapped OBC (Other Backward Classes) certificates issued in West Bengal after 2010, Mamata came out in opposition to the order saying that OBC reservation will continue and that she is prepared to move to higher courts if needed.

Ambala Lok Sabha constituency of Haryana, which goes to polls in the penultimate phase on May 25, is set to see a fierce bipolar contest between the ruling BJP and the Congress. The BJP's Banto Devi Kataria (59), the wife of late MP Rattan Lal Kataria who won the previous two elections in 2014 and 2019 by handsome margins, is seeking a fresh term in the Lower House this year. However, he faces a doughty rival in the form of sitting Congress MLA from Mullana (reserved) assembly and the son of veteran Congress leader Phool Chand Mullana, Varun Chaudhary (44). The reserved seat for Scheduled Caste candidates comprises the entire Ambala and Panchkula districts as well as part of Yamunanagar district.

external affairs ministry has received a request from the Karnataka government to cancel the diplomatic passport of Janata Dal (Secular) MP and alleged sex offender Prajwal Revanna, and the matter is being «processed», said people familiar with the matter. «The ministry has received a letter from the Karnataka government for cancellation of diplomatic passport in respect of MP Prajwal Revanna. It is being processed,» said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified. Revanna, who is seeking re-election to the Lok Sabha from Hassan as NDA candidate, left the country a day after the April 26 polls using a diplomatic passport.

elaborate arrangements to ensure peaceful polling in Anantnag-Rajouri Lok Sabha constituency, which is going to polls in the sixth phase on May 25. The officials held separate meetings on enhancing coordination and ensuring robust security measures across the region. The administration has deployed additional companies of police, Army, CRPF, BSF and other paramilitary forces to reinforce the security in sensitive areas. Checkpoints have been erected on all major roads of the constituency. Recently, there were two separate attacks in this constituency in which a former Sarpanch associated with BJP was killed in Shopian and a couple from Rajasthan was injured in another attack near Pahalgam area in Anantnag.

Election Commission of India issued a notice to BJP chief JP Nadda directing him to restrain the party's star campaigners from making communal statements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday alleged that for Congress and its allies, their vote bank is more important than the nation. «For Congress and Indi Alliance, more important than the country is their vote bank. They divided the nation for their vote bank… Created Bharat and two Muslim nations. Now, the Indi Alliance is saying the first right to the remaining resources of Bharat is of Muslims,» he alleged at an election rally in Bhiwani, Haryana. Modi also addressed a rally in Patiala where Preneet Kaur is the BJP candidate.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday asked banks not to adjust drought relief funds the government has released to individual farmers through a direct benefit transfer (DBT) against the dues of their agriculture loans. The CM, who chaired a meeting of deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat CEOs in the presence of ministers and department secretaries, said officials must ensure farmers got loans for the oncoming crop season on time. The government had already sent this year's agriculture credit plans, and officials must now act by coordinating with bankers in districts, he said. Siddaramaiah disapproved of the way insurance firms were handling the crop loss insurance claims. Such conduct would bring bad name to the government, he said, and asked officials to discuss with insurance firms and make life easy for farmers.

BJP leader Varun Gandhi on Thursday addressed his first rally in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls in support of Maneka Gandhi, and said his mother has a close connection with the people of her Sultanpur constituency. «Elections are going on everywhere in the country...but there is only one region in the country where people don't call their MP, Sansad ji, Mantri ji, or by her name, but call her mata ji,» the Pilibhit MP said here amid applause from the public. «I am confident that this time you people are going to break all the records. I have no enmity with anyone. When I came to Sultanpur for the first time, I felt the 'Khusbhu' (fragrance) of my father here, but today I feel proud to say that I have come to my motherland,» he said. This is the first time Varun Gandhi has addressed a rally this election season. He has remained out of the public space ever since he was replaced by the BJP with Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, which went to polls in the first phase of the elections.

Election Commission has opposed in the Supreme Court an NGO's demand to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections, contending it will «vitiate» the electoral space and cause «chaos» in the poll machinery in the midst of the general elections. A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma is scheduled to hear the plea of NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms', which has also sought direction to the poll panel that scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded) of all polling stations be uploaded immediately after the polls. In its counter affidavit, the poll panel said there is no legal mandate to provide Form 17C to any person other than the candidate or his agent.

BJP MP Jayant Sinha, who was asked by the party to show cause for not taking part in campaigning, on Thursday said he was being «unjustly targeted» and the public notice amounted to demoralising dedicated workers like him. Replying to the show cause notice, Sinha said it was issued to him though he had on March 2 communicated to BJP president JP Nadda that he would not be able to shoulder electoral responsibilities as he would focus on combating issues arising from global climate change. The Hazaribagh MP also said that it was wrong for the party to allege that he did not cast his vote on May 20, since he had exercised his franchise through postal ballot and was not in the country on the polling day. «Given my contributions to the party and the circumstances, the public issuance of your letter is unseemly. Your approach demoralizes dedicated party workers and undermines the party's collective efforts. Additionally, despite my loyalty and hard work for the party, it appears that I am being unjustly targeted,» the former Union minister replied on the show cause notice via a post on X.

Trinamool Congress on Thursday filed a complaint with the Election Commission against West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, alleging that he canvassed for the BJP by wearing their party symbol at an event in Kolkata. In a complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner, the TMC claimed that the Governor was «seen to be wearing a BJP logo» on his chest while attending the event at Ram Temple in Kolkata. «It is to bring to your kind knowledge and attention that C V Ananda Bose, the Hon'ble Governor of the State of West Bengal has been using his good office for canvassing for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the ensuing general elections to the Lok Sabha,» the TMC said in its complaint. «In particular, on 23.01.2024, the Hon'ble Governor while attending a public function at Ram Temple, Central Avenue, Kolkata was seen to be wearing a BJP logo on his chest, for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections to solicit votes for BJP,» the party alleged.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi Thursday said these are very important elections to save democracy and the Constitution, and urged the people here to play their part in this fight and make INDIA bloc candidates victorious on all seven seats. In a video statement, the Congress parliamentary party chief also asserted this Lok Sabha election is being fought on issues such as unemployment, inflation and attack on constitutional institutions. Click here to participate in our Lok Sabha Elections Survey to gauge the mood of the nation «This is a very important election. This election is an election to save the democracy and Constitution of the country. This election is being fought on issues like unemployment, inflation and attack on constitutional institutions. You have to play your part in this fight,» Gandhi told the people of Delhi in her message.

Amit Shah on Thursday claimed that in the first five rounds of polling, «BJP has crossed 310» and that Congress Party is «not even getting 40 seats» this time. «INDI alliance has been wiped out in the first five phases. I am telling you, this time Congress is not even getting 40 seats and Akhilesh Yadav will not even get four seats,» said Shah addressing a poll meeting in Siddharthnagar in support of Domariyaganj BJP candidate Jagdambika Pal. He said that the PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) is a part of INDIA and the BJP will take it back. «Leaders of Pakistan say that PoK is theirs. Congress leaders also say that they (Pakistan) have an atom bomb. BJP people are not scared of atom bombs. PoK is and will remain part of India and we will take it back,» he said.

Election Commission of India's opposition to a plea for public disclosure of Form 17C, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Thursday questioned the hesitation of the apex poll body in releasing vote-related data on its website. «The ECI has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating it has no legal mandate to upload Form 17 which is a record of votes polled at a polling station. Form 17 is signed by Presiding Officer and given to Polling Agent at the end of polling. The information is also directly sent to ECI. Now why does the ECI not put that data on website? What is their hesitation or problem?» Sibal said while addressing a press conference. «What can happen in the process is the number of votes that are counted would in fact be more than the number of votes that are polled. We don't know what's correct? But what is the hesitation of the ECI to put that data on record, on its website. Nobody can morph it,» he added.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday hailed the Calcutta High Court's decision to scrap the OBC status of several classes in West Bengal, calling it a slap in the face of those indulged in appeasement politics through «religion-based» quota. The HC on Wednesday struck down the OBC (Other Backward Class) status of several classes in Bengal, finding such reservations under a 2012 Act to vacancies in services and posts in the state illegal. It observed that the inclusion of 77 classes of Muslims in the list of backward categories was to «treat them as vote bank». West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has asserted that she will not accept the order and hinted that her government could challenge it in the Supreme Court. Asked about Banerjee's statement, Sai told reporters here, «We welcome the decision of Calcutta High Court over religion-based reservation. It is a slap in the face of those who practise vote bank and appeasement politics by giving religion-based reservation.»

Narendra Modi on Wednesday criticised INDIA bloc and said that it has been formed to protect corruption of ally parties. The remark came during his exclusive interview with Economic Times. When asked about the Opposition's claim that the government's anti-corruption drive is a targeted investigation, Modi responded, «These accusations from the Opposition seem to come from a fear of being caught and having their corruption exposed. »The fact is that INDI Alliance is a bloc that has been formed to protect each other's corruption, and the money that they looted from the citizens is there for everyone to see each time a corruption scandal is exposed," he added.

BJP said on Thursday that no one should hamper the probe into the alleged assault on AAP MP Swati Maliwal, claiming it is part of the investigation to ascertain who were present at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence and the role they played when the incident occurred. «Who all were present at Kejriwal's residence from his family and office, the role they played and what they witnessed when Maliwal was being beaten up are part of the investigation. I am a spokesperson of the BJP, not the police. I will only request that no one should hamper the investigation,» Union Minister Smriti Irani said at a press conference. She was responding to a question about the AAP's attack on the BJP over the Delhi Police's move to question Kejriwal's parents over the issue. The fact that Kejriwal has been seen travelling with the accused, his aide Bibhav Kumar, signals where his loyalty lies in the case, she said.