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Election Commission of India is learnt to be mulling over ways to address the concerns raised by INDIA bloc parties over «erosion of level playing field» due to the alleged «blatant and audacious misuse» of central agencies by the BJP-led government. ECI could soon issue an advisory on the matter. Assessments within ECI indicate that legal and constitutional readings do not give much latitude to the panel in terms of specific actions, ET has gathered. However, it is also alive to INDIA bloc's concerns and the panel's own mandate and role in ensuring level playing field. ECI may issue either a strong advisory to the Centre or a specific communication to agencies concerned. ET gathers that the panel is considering a draft to the effect.

BJP and Trinamool supporters in South 24 Parganas district's Jibontala in Canning. BJP has filed a complaint with the Election Commission, claiming its members were attacked by Trinamool members. Trinamool's Canning MLA Soukat Mollah has also claimed that three ruling party workers were injured in «attacks by BJP supporters». Seeking action, BJP has claimed Mollah and «his goons» allegedly attacked BJP workers while the party was holding political activities in the area.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) in Maharashtra has all but announced that it will not be a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Opposition alliance and will contest the general elections on its own. VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar on Sunday said his party will wait for two more days before announcing its course of action.

Something analogous is happening in the world of non-banking financial services. In less than five weeks, RBI shut down Paytm Payments Bank, served Visa a cease-and-desist order with regard to card-based vendor payments and P2P transactions, prohibited IIFL Finance from sanctioning new gold loans, and debarred JM Financial from providing finance against shares and debentures, and for new IPOs. Had this been all, one could have excused this as a specific set of actions against a small number of significant players. But the central bank has subsequently also carried out a plethora of audits targeting fintechs that disburse small-ticket personal loans. The stated reason: exuberant unsecured loan growth.

K Surendran its Kerala unit president from Wayanad, from where Rahul Gandhi is a sitting MP. The party released the names of the candidates for the Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile, BJP fielded Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, a stronghold of Congress.

Baki Hanma season 2 focuses on the plight of a feisty fighter and the ultimate battle for martial-arts championships, Kengan Ashura is about a dangerous setup where a rookie fighter climbs up the ladder. Netflix's Baki Hanma and Kengan Ashura crossover will start streaming on June 6. Bridging the worlds of athleticism and animation, Baki Hanma and Kengan Ashura stand as pillars in the realm of sports anime, their narratives intertwining around the art of hand-to-hand combat. With each series boasting its own distinctive flair and fervor, the prospect of pairing them together ignites the imaginations of fans worldwide.

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 matches are coming thick and fast just like NBA regular season games in the US. On the occasion of Holi 2024, Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will host Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This venue holds the record of teams scoring more than 200 runs in an innings on most occasions — 27 times, and the average first innings score in the IPL here is 172.

complaints related to violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) from across Rajasthan have been registered on the Election Commission's cVigil app over the last week, a senior official said on Sunday. Since the MCC came into force on March 16, more than 200 complaints are being received every day on the cVIGIL (Citizen Vigilance) app, said Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta. A total of 1,515 complaints were registered on the app in the last seven days, he said. «Out of the 1,515 complaints received in the last seven days, 546 were found correct by the returning officers and were disposed of within the stipulated time (of 100 minutes). Six complaints are still pending for decision by the investigating teams and returning officers while 789 complaints were dropped,» he said.

IIFL Finance Ltd and JM Financial Products Ltd (JMFPL) as it has initiated the process for appointment of auditors. The central bank has floated two separate tenders for appointment of auditors for special audits of the two non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

attacked Ayush, 12, Ahaan alias Honey, 8, and Yuvraj, 10, with a knife. Ayush and Ahaan died on the spot, while Yuvraj was admitted to the hospital with serious wounds. Vinod Kumar, the father of the deceased, set his bike on fire and later tried to immolate himself.

Amazon Prime Video's upcoming Indian spy-thriller series, 'Citadel: Honey Bunny', starring Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, has generated immense anticipation among fans. Here's a look at the release date, cast, plot, and production insights surrounding this much-awaited project.

Tamil Nadu BJP on Sunday alleged that state Fisheries Minister and DMK leader Anitha R Radhakrishnan publicly uttered an expletive against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said it would approach the police and Election Commission seeking action. K Annamalai, the BJP's state unit president posted on X that DMK leaders have reached a new low in their «uncouth behaviour» by passing «vile comments and an unpardonable public discourse» against PM Modi. «When they have nothing to criticise, this is the level DMK leaders have stooped. DMK MP Smt Kanimozhi was on the stage and did not bother to stop her colleague,» Annamalai said in his post. The BJP leader said his party would take up this matter with the Election Commission and the Director General of Police (DGP) on March 24 seeking the «strictest and immediate action» against Anita Radhakrishnan.

IIFL Finance Ltd and JM Financial Products Ltd (JMFPL) will undergo a special audit to further probe their regulatory breaches, as the Reserve Bank has initiated the process for the appointment of auditors. The Reserve Bank has floated two separate tenders for the appointment of auditors for special audits of these two non-banking finance companies. Audit firms empanelled by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for forensic audit can participate in the tendering process, and the last date for submission of bids is April 8, as per the tender document published by the Reserve Bank of India. The selected firms will be awarded work on April 12, 2024, as per the bid documents.

BJP on Sunday criticised the Left government in Kerala for its move to approach the Supreme Court against President Droupadi Murmu saying that it reflected the Marxist party's discrimination towards women and tribal communities. The CPI(M) has always adopted an «anti-woman» stand and they had even opposed when Murmu had been nominated to the supreme post of the country, senior party leader and Union Minister V Muraleedharan alleged.

Philippine troops were injured in the latest China Coast Guard water cannon attack on a Filipino supply vessel near a South China Sea reef, Manila's national security adviser said Sunday. The Philippine government said Saturday's confrontation caused severe damage to the Unaizah May 4 vessel while it was on its way to deliver troops and provisions to a Philippine navy ship grounded atop the Second Thomas Shoal. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, brushing off rival claims from other countries, including the Philippines, and an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Arvind Kejriwal, suggesting that he has «lost all morality» and should «learn» from ex Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who had resigned from his post before being arrested by the Enorcement Directorate. «Morality is also a thing. Kejriwal has lost all morality. Under the garb of morality, he had agitated with Anna Hazare. And he is saying that the law does not prohibit him from running a government behind bars,» the BJP leader told on Sunday. «What had our Baba Saheb Ambedkar thought that such immoral people would become the Chief Minister? Those who will be behind bars,» the BJP leader said while expressing concern at Arvind Kejriwal, who is still running the government after being arrested on charges of corruption in a Delhi excise policy case.

farmer from Prakasam district, Keshanapalli Brahmaiah, found himself in dire financial straits and decided to grow ganja on his land to clear his mounting debts. According to SEB officials, the farmer, identified as Keshanapalli Brahmaiah from Gangupalle village in Yerragondapalem mandal of Prakasam district, has about five acres of land where he cultivates various crops throughout the year. Brahmaiah had resorted to this illegal activity after facing heavy losses due to untimely rains and other factors.

Karnataka government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to release financial assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state for drought management. The petition has also sought to declare that the Centre's action in not releasing the financial assistance for drought arrangement as per the NDRF is «ex-facie violative» of the fundamental rights of the people of the state guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It said the state is reeling under «severe drought», affecting the lives of its people and for the Kharif 2023 season, which starts in June and ends in September, a total of 223 out of 236 taluks are declared as drought-affected. The plea said 196 taluks are categorised as severely affected and the remaining 27 as moderately affected.

Aditya Vision, Crisil, HUDCO, REC, and SBI Card will trade ex-dividend, while Persistent Systems will trade ex-split this week. On Thursday, 28 March, Aditya Vision (Rs 5.1/share), Crisil (Rs 28/share), HUDCO (Rs 1.5/share), Prithvi Exchange (Rs 2/share), R Systems International (Rs 6/share), REC (Rs 4.5/share), SBI Cards and Payment Services (Rs 2.5/share), Standard Industries (Rs 0.5/share), and Thinkink Picturez (Rs 0.1/share) will trade ex-dividend.

Arvind Kejriwal a day after the Delhi High Court dealt him a fresh blow, turning down the ruling AAP's request for an urgent listing of its plea against the former's arrest in the liquor policy case, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Sunday the ruling came as an affirmation that the action against him was consistent with the law of the land. Speaking to on Sunday, the BJP spokesman said, «Our courts believe that whatever happened (the action against Kejriwal) was absolutely according to the law.» On the HC striking down AAP's plea on behalf of Kejriwal, seeking 'immediate relief' from arrest in the liquor policy case, the BJP leader added, «He moved court saying that the granting of his custody to the ED (in the excise policy case) until March 28 was unlawful and he should immediately be granted relief (from arrest). However, the Delhi High Court refused an immediate hearing (as the AAP pleaded), and neither did it put a stay on any order passed earlier.»

Lok Sabha polls, with the Samajwadi Party targeting the BJP over the law and order situation while the saffron party asserting that «rapid police action» resulted in the death of the main accused. Located in western Uttar Pradesh, Budaun is considered the gateway to the Braj region from Rohailkhand. Samajwadi Party, which is eyeing to reclaim the seat that it lost in 2019, has fielded Shivpal Singh Yadav as its candidate. The BJP is yet to declare sitting MP Sanghamitra Maurya as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls.